Contents

Basic Info

An elder Roegadyn with all the warmth of a cannonball, Hammersmith is an immense Hellsguard who's come out of "retirement" at the behest of someone blowing up large portions of the continent including, but not limited to: Where he was trying to retire to.

Never known for being cheery he's even less such now, having been forced to pick his weapons up again and return to a life already well traveled.

"I know the cities pretty well. Helped put a lot of holes in their walls. Marched through a lot of those holes. Don't trust walls. Don't trust cities. Don't trust people who tell you they're safe."

"Hate's a strong word. I don't use it lightly. I find I'm using it a lot these days."

"People build. People tear down. That ain't stoppin any time soon."

"Cause trouble. Make things difficult. Or else someone else will."

"Few things worth being stupid for. Best enjoy them while you can afford to pay their price."

"Remember the compliments you recieve. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this: Tell me how."

Likes

■ Melee Weapons

■ Fighting

■ Good metalwork

■ Violence

■ Pushing Limits

■ Smoking like a chimney

■ Drinking

■ Gear Works

■ Consequences

Dislikes

■ People.

■ Leaders of people

■ Shitty smithing

■ Magic

■ Mages

■ Mages

■ People who think consequences are someone else's problem

Skills

■ Blacksmithing

■ Armorsmithing

■ Metallurgy

■ Hand to Hand combat

■ Siege Smithing

■ Funeral Dirges

■ Advice

■ Bad Advice

Appearance & Personality

Hammersmith is very, very large, even for a Roegadyn. His build is a working man's build. The kind you get when you've never been allowed, or allowed yourself, an extended rest from toil and obligation. His body is absolutely covered in scars, the most notable being the ones crossing his left eye and the dead orb inside it. His age is hard to determine. Without the protective sheath of armor or cloth, the extent of the large roe's scarring becomes even more apparent. Most of his body is a merged length of burn scars, badly healed blade marks, and several akward craters of keloid flesh peppered throughout. He could be anywhere from a very haggard 50 to a very well maintained and pissed off 70. Hammersmith is, above all, a testimony that spite can serve as a preservative.

Hammersmith is well spoken, assuming you catch him without a bottle in his mouth. Given that this is a rare event, most times he speaks with the accent of his childhood village, which makes the torrent of filth, philosophy, and temptation all the harder to understand.

Hammersmith is slow to actual anger but quick to annoyance and even quicker to act on that annoyance. People who aren't well acquainted with the giant Hellsguard often find themselves on the receiving end of poor impulse control paired to an even poorer tolerance for bullshit. What is considered bullshit often has a wild variance at any given time, meaning it's often best not to be within direct reach of Hammersmith at any given time.

Hammersmith's fighting skills are based on a lifetime of heavy combat and the understanding of skirmishing that comes from it. It's not flashy and it's not stylish. It's efficient and practiced, with muscle memory retained from decades of taking people apart step by careful step. The Hellsguard looks slow, and has a severe disdain for 'showing off'. This works to his advantage in most cases. He enjoys brawling but he considers pulling steel on someone as something you only do when you intend to kill them on the spot.

Known Biography

Hammersmith has a military history in Ul'dah, with a long record of service stretching back at least two decades from the current point in time. The few that recognize the name in the leadership refuse to say more than 'He was a siege master and he was good at his job.' His claims of retirement are validated by the official record with it marked as almost one year before Dalmud's decent. Several mercenary companies do have some record of a Hellsguard matching Hammersmith's description in their records pre-dating his service to Ul'Dah, though not under that name. His records of service in the mercenary companies were always short and normally involved an extremely violent campaign against large cities.

His military service before his work in Ul'Dah was in Ala Mhigo and getting records out of that city isn't something that's going to happen easily. Hammer has been heard claiming all his friends are long dead. His age, combined with the high casualty rate of siege workers, Ala Mhigan citizens who fled the Garlean 'liberation' and the recent cataclysm add a great deal of weight to that claim.

With little to no support or social structure left to him in his advancing age, it's not a surprise he's been forced to return to the fields of war and his old bloody craft to 'rebuild'.

Miscellaneous

Hammersmith's teeth are filed to points.

His one remaining eye is a dark, bloody red, usually matched to the often burst vessels surrounding it.

One of his current hobbies seems to be participating in the local underground fight circles between stints of "official" work for the Immortal Flames.

Hammersmith's loathing of mages is only matched by his utter hatred of chronic liars. There are guard records from the Yellowjackets several decades ago that suggest a sudden outbreak of tongueless "mutes" was due to politics and Hammersmith meeting head to head.

That's probably not his blood colouring his hair. But it probably belonged to someone else, at some point, earlier in the day.

Speaking of which: The Limsa Maurader's guild refuses to speak about Hammersmith in any official capacity and claims to have no records on him. Even those too young to know Hammersmith from that far back don't talk about his enrollment or lack there of.

Hammersmith has been heard, in public, to claim to have had children. If they survived to adulthood is up for speculation, as is who would be stupid enough to remain in arm's length of him long enough to start raising a family.

Coffee, smokes, and heavy alchohol seem to be all the giant consumes. Local merchants in Ul'dah note he does purchase large amounts of Hard-Tack from the Immortal Flames stockpiles though.

Hammer apparently has an extreme view of the Hellsguardian approach to names. He views them as disposable and has used multiple over the course of his life when not signing his name to "Official" documents or in close company. Names suspected to have been associated with a Roe matching Hammer's look, outlook, and attitude include: War Dog, Pig Iron, Furious Goat, Hay Geezer, Hell Thrower, Tunnel Boar, Wall Demon, Ash Rat, Red Singer, Spark Song, Wall Eye, Warm Furnace and High Lantern. How he came to hold on to "Flameson Hammersmith" as a formal public label doesn't appear to be a story he's telling.

Rumours

Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC!

◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)

■ "I hear most of the Immortal Flames officer core have dress weapons and metal-work with his maker's mark stamped on it."

■ "I heard he worked for the Syndicate when he was younger. He looks like one of their thugs."

■ "He used to be a merchant. All this mercenary work and military service helped him invest in war-profiteering."

◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)

■ "Our local Sargent said he recognized him. Something about being the Demon of the Walls. He knocked on one of the city gates when he said that."

■ "One of the Ala Mihgo refugees said one of their leaders knew him before the city fell. He used to be one of the Destroyer's monks ."

■ "I've seen him offering coins to the Byregot orders. Something about debts owed."

◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)

■ "He loathes the twelve. They say he pulled the ears off an elezen priest during the last temple holiday."

■ "I heard he makes people sign contracts for smithing work in blood. The Flames officers say his mercenary papers are signed in the same stuff. Both his and their signatures."

■ "He plays a "Violent Golf" with anything shorter than him. Which is pretty much everyone. I've seen him punt a Lalafel over a wall in one swing."

◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players)

■ "Interesting fellow. For all of his bluster, he was affected when those knives sank into her. Gave me an earful on her behalf. I'd bet he was concerned, not that he'd ever admit it." -- Warren Castille

■ "He arrived to me at the Grindstone, shirtless, covered in sweat, blood and ichor. Anyone else and I'd have been disgusted, but on him it looked...natural. Suitable. Even a bit alluring, in some sick way. We'll have to meet again, methinks." -- Steel Wolf

■ "He keeps trying to get me to admit to something I'm not. . . I don't try to hurt people, I don't care what he says." -- Aaron Frostheart

■ "Sir Flameson Hammersmith, forger of breastplates, bane of masonry. I had been well acquainted with the legends both of his deeds and misdeeds, but only upon speaking with him myself did I get the faintest hint of his secret sophistication. Sadly the gems of his wisdom are hidden away behind the castle walls of his acerbic personality and incomprehensible dialect. If he could tear down these walls, then perhaps one day his treasured wisdom would be added to the inventory of his legends." -- Lilia Lia

■ "He likes to talk like a big brute but I think he is truly a big softie. He reminds me much of my brother. Big, loud, and proud. He seems to hate everyone but if he truly did he wouldn't go out in public. Don't let him fool you." Kaguya Nightsong /Flower

■ "First time I met him, he was speaking blood--literally. Last time I saw him, he played golf with a highlander--again, literally." -- Allister Dedrick

■ "He's scary. Like, really scary. I don't want to be alone in a room, or an alley, or anywhere, really, with this guy." -- Jadoth Bloodreign

■ "I hear he bottles his farts and sells the bottled farts to the alchemist's guild for easy money. Has he no shame?" -- Edda Vincents

■ "Don't let his complacency fool you, the monster's as swift as they come and packs a kick hard enough to collapse my lungs and break my ribs. I'd be honored to call him a friend, and perhaps by the Twelve's grace, a rival." -- Orenji Kharn

■ "I could probably do something about those scars, but he strikes me as the sort to be offended by the notion." -- Jana Ridah

■ "I've seen Smithy's engines rend more men to paste and bits than a raging Dragon. I pity the forces that work against his siege." -- War Bear

■ "Just at a glance I can tell that he's got a body made for killin', a mind made fer plannin' it an' a soul conditioned to endure it. He's familiar wit' the departure blessin', too. I don't wanna think about what that means. Those things don't matter anymore." -- Berrod Armstrong

■ "I've been called an observant woman of late. What I didn't expect when dueling Hammersmith was to be thrown 20 yalms in the air right into a healer. It was very painful, yet enjoyable. He'll make a name for himself at the Grindstone if he hasn't already." -- Elise Wolfe

■ "A lot of people underestimate Flameson Hammersmith; they take one look at him and assume he's a big, ugly, idiotic brute. Little do they know that he is a mountain of astute subtleties." -- Syranelle Ironleaf

■ "You ever punched a stone wall before? Imagine that wall moving towards you and swinging a weapon at you and that's a pretty accurate description. Good thing I was drinking at the time, otherwise I'd be writhing in pain." -- Ciceroix Poisson

■ "I've heard lately that Hammersmith was quite the craftsman after he laid down arms, had himself a great, bushy beard too. Strange..." -- Doctor Oak

■ "All those years somewhere up north must've taken their toll, especially since I hear he took a small army of lalafell with him to be his helpers. That would drive anyone nutty." -- Doctor Oak

■ "Hammer? Oh, gods, how to even describe him. He cleaned up a spilled first aid kit in a subligar and rode a broom up the stairs like a witch. He's pretty amazing." -- Sebastian Taylor